Do scalp massages help hair grow? What the small studies show

The study of nine men

The study most articles cite was published in 2016 in the journal Eplasty. Researchers asked nine healthy Japanese men aged 25 to 46 to use an electric massage device on one side of the scalp for four minutes a day, for 24 weeks. The other side got no massage, so each man served as his own comparison.

At the end, the hairs on the massaged side were thicker. The average thickness of a hair went from 0.085 mm at the start to 0.092 mm at 24 weeks, an increase of 8.2%. That is the finding that made the study famous. A change of 0.007 mm per strand cannot be seen by eye on a single hair. Across a whole head of fine hair, over months, it could add some body at the root. That is the most the result supports.

Two other results get less attention. The number of hairs did not change in a lasting way; it dipped at 12 weeks and then returned. The speed at which hair grew did not change on either side. So the one measured gain was thicker strands, with the same number of hairs and the same growth speed as before.

The researchers also tested why massage might have this effect. In lab work on cells from the base of the hair follicle, they found that stretching the cells changed the activity of thousands of genes, including some linked to hair growth. Their idea is that massage stretches the skin and passes that force down to the follicle. It is a reasonable idea, and it was shown in cells in a dish. The men's scalps were not biopsied, so no one looked at their follicles directly. The paper also states that blood flow, the most common explanation you will read online, was not measured.

The limits matter. Nine people is a small group, and all of them were healthy men from one country, so the result may not apply to women or to people who are already losing hair. There was no fake massage on the comparison side, and the men knew which side was being treated. The result is a useful first signal. It needs a larger, controlled study before anyone can rely on it.

The survey of 340 people

The second paper, published in Dermatology and Therapy in 2019, looked at a finger massage method. People with pattern hair loss had bought written instructions and a video that encouraged two 20-minute massages a day. Of the 1,899 buyers contacted later, 340 completed a survey about how much they had massaged and what they had noticed. Of the people who tried the massage, 68.9% reported that their hair loss had stopped or that some hair had grown back. People who massaged for more minutes a day, and for more months, reported better results.

That sounds strong. The authors list the reasons it proves less than it appears to:

• There was no control group, so there is no way to know how many of these people would have reported the same result without massage.
• Every result was the person's own judgement of their own hair, recalled after months.
• People tend to rate a treatment they chose themselves more kindly.
• Only 17.9% of the people contacted completed the survey.

The paper also discloses that one author runs a commercial website that sells education and services about the method. It is one more reason to read the 68.9% as a report of what people believed. Nobody measured their hair.

Does it make hair grow faster

Based on the one study that measured it, no. Cleveland Clinic dermatologists note that most people's hair growth is set by their genes. In the nine-man study, hair on the massaged side grew at the same rate as hair on the untouched side for the whole 24 weeks.

What massage may change is how full hair looks, if each strand is thicker. That can matter for people with fine hair, where a small change in the width of each strand adds up across a whole head. Length is a different question. Our guide on how fast hair grows explains the growth cycle and the reasons hair seems to stop at a certain length. Most of those reasons involve breakage at the ends.

Can it cause hair loss

Neither of the two main studies reported lasting hair loss from massage. In the nine-man study, hair count dipped at 12 weeks and then returned to its starting level. Losing some hair every day is also normal: the American Academy of Dermatology puts it at 50 to 100 hairs a day. Hairs at the end of their cycle are already loose, so a few on your fingers after a massage are part of that daily count.

Force is the thing to watch. The American Academy of Dermatology's advice for people with hair loss says that tugging on hair while brushing or combing can lead to hair loss, and that hairstyles that pull on the hair can cause a type of loss called traction alopecia. A massage done by gripping and pulling the hair, or by scrubbing hard with the nails, adds exactly that kind of stress. The skin should move under your fingers. The hair should stay still.

How to do a scalp massage

The method below keeps to what the studies used: daily practice, steady pressure, and no pulling.

1. Use the pads of your fingers. Keep the nails off the skin. Spread the fingers of both hands across the scalp.
2. Move the skin, then lift. Press down until the skin moves over the skull, make small circles for a few seconds, then lift the fingers and move them to a new spot. Sliding across the scalp rubs the hair and tangles it.
3. Cover the whole scalp in order. Start at the hairline, work back to the crown, then down the sides and the back of the head.
4. Keep it firm but comfortable. Pressure that hurts, or leaves the scalp red and sore afterwards, is too much.
5. Aim for at least four minutes a day. That is the time used in the study that found thicker hair. The survey participants reported 11 to 20 minutes, and longer sessions are fine if the scalp stays comfortable.
6. Give it months. Both studies measured change over months of daily practice. A few weeks will not tell you much.

In the shower, a massage is also a good way to work shampoo onto the scalp. If you use a dandruff shampoo, the massage helps spread it evenly, and the American Academy of Dermatology notes that some dandruff shampoos need to sit on the scalp for 5 to 10 minutes before rinsing. The shampoo treats the flakes. The massage only helps it reach the skin.

A handheld silicone massager does the same job as fingers. Choose one with soft, rounded tips, press and lift instead of scrubbing, and clean it after use. Our scalp care guide covers the rest of a scalp routine, from washing to buildup.

Who should be careful

Skip massage, or keep it light, on skin that is broken, sunburnt or sore. If you have psoriasis or a flaky, itchy scalp, rubbing can irritate the skin further, so treat the skin condition first. If you have braids, locs or extensions, press gently between the sections and avoid tugging at the roots, since those styles already put tension on the hair.

If your scalp itches without flakes, massage will not fix the cause. Our post on why your scalp can itch without dandruff goes through the usual reasons.

Where massage stops and treatment starts

Scalp massage is cheap and safe, and it can be relaxing. As a treatment for hair loss, it has no strong evidence behind it. That gap matters, because waiting on a routine that may do little costs time.

For pattern hair loss, the American Academy of Dermatology describes minoxidil as a treatment that can help early hair loss, and says that the earlier you start, the more likely you are to see regrowth. Results take time there too, usually 6 to 12 months. A dermatologist can also check whether the cause is something else, such as shedding after illness, a thyroid problem or an iron shortage, each of which needs a different response.

See a dermatologist if your part is widening, your hairline is moving back, you notice a bald patch, or shedding has gone on for more than a few months. Massage can continue alongside any treatment they recommend. It works best as an extra, and it cannot replace a diagnosis.

If you want a plain reading of your own hair and scalp before you decide what to do, the Kurli AI Specialist looks at photos of your hair and scalp and tells you what it sees, with a clear note when something should go to a doctor.